NBA Moving Draft From MSG To Newark's Prudential Center For '11

The NBA last night announced that it will host the '11 NBA Draft at Prudential Center, moving it from MSG "for the first time" since '01 while the Manhattan arena undergoes renovations, according to Brian Lewis of the N.Y. POST. MSG will be under construction for the next three summers, and NBA Commissioner David Stern last night said that Newark "outbid other cites to host the event," to be held next year on June 23. Stern notes that the NBA may take the draft "to other cities in the future." He said, "We don't have a place to hold the next draft. ... But we have a lot of attractive offers" (N.Y. POST, 10/28). Stern: "The fact that (the Garden wasn't available), it gave us the capacity to begin talking to other cities and it changed our perspective a little bit because the draft has become a really culturally different event" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/28). Stern said, "With the Nets coming here and the excitement in Newark we thought it was the time to have the draft here" (Bergen RECORD, 10/27). The commissioner "did not guarantee that the draft would return to the Garden once construction is complete." He said, "We have 30 franchises, we've got 28 great metropolitan areas and we'll see where it goes from there" (ESPNNEWYORK.com, 10/27).

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK? The Nets drew 15,178 fans to Prudential Center last night for their season opener against the Pistons, the team's first home game in Newark since relocating from Izod Center after last season. In Newark, David Giambusso noted the Nets' planned two-year stay in the city before relocating to Brooklyn is "expected to draw heavy traffic to the area," and sources said that the NBA has been "working closely with city officials to help spur economic growth in the downtown area" (NJ.com, 10/27). Prudential Center officials estimate that the Nets' 39 regular-season games at the arena -- along with a "beefed up calendar of concerts -- will generate roughly $5 million in business this year for surrounding bars, restaurants and attractions" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/28).